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Eastern Great Lakes: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio

the central third of the state. Central Indiana is the farming belt. The region has rich soil and level land. Southern Indiana is hilly and rough. There are dense forests, thickets, and few miner- als. Limestone outcrops made Bloomington the heart of the quarry- ing industry. Indiana limestone is top quality. It faces the state capital build- ing, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the Empire State Building in New York City. Indiana’s pleasant climate attract- ed pioneering farmers. Today, winter temperatures average 25 degrees and

Ohio. The Wabash crisscrosses Indiana, forms the state’s southwest border, and eventually empties into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The land between the Maumee and the Wabash has been the site of a Native American village, a French trading post, an American fort, and is now the city of Fort Wayne. Indiana has three regions. The northern third has many areas of fer- tile soil and is relatively flat. However, its marshlands , such as the Kankakee Valley south of Gary, made the area less welcoming to early farmers than

Words to Understand in This Chapter

colony— a community of people with common interests. commission— to formally assign to a task, especially a work of art. marshland— an area of wet land with many plants. pharmaceuticals— medicinal drugs. Quaker— a person belonging to the Christian group, the Society of Friends, which was active in the abolition movement. quarry— to dig or take stone out of the ground; a place where stone is dug or taken from the ground.